Charles Rohlfs

Daisy Mead Talbott Greene and George Shaw Greene, Dayton, Ohio, possibly acquired on the occasion of their marriage in 1910
Thence by descent to the present owner, circa 1960

Joseph Cunningham, The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs, New Haven, CT, 2008, cover and pp. 98-103 (for the present model executed in oak, collection of American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation, promised gift to The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Joseph Cunningham, "Anna Katherine Green and Charles Rohlfs:  Artistic Collaborators,"  The Magazine Antiques, December 2008, cover and p. 71 (for the above example)

Overall in very good original condition. This extraordinary chair has been extensively examined and conditioned by a leading furniture conservator. The mahogany surfaces throughout appear to retain their original finish, and show evidence of fine crazing throughout consistent with the natural aging process. The finish on the horizontal surfaces, including the seat and top elements of the stretchers, show subtle signs of dust accumulation over the years. The mahogany surfaces throughout with some occasional minor surface scratches, surface abrasions, and minor edge wear with some associated edge losses consistent with age and gentle use. The seat with a very subtle and faint ring mark. The top rear corners of the upper crest rail with small and minor edge losses. The chair back with minor rubbing and edge wear. The reverse of the chair back, above the seat, with an old weathered area of abrasions (4 inches in length). There is a small old restoration (1 x 1 ½ inches) to the bottom corner of the proper right rear foot, executed sometime prior to 1950. This restoration was executed in a lighter wood and was recently stained by a leading conservator to appear more consistent with the overall finish of the chair. This replaced element is slightly off profile, and as a result the chair sits ever so slightly unevenly. Sotheby’s would recommend that a professional furniture conservator replace this old repair so that it is more consistent with the original foot profile, which would be a relatively simple and straightforward project. The chair presents with strong visual presence and incredibly sophisticated proportion and form. The intricate carved elements to the back rest and seat rail are masterfully executed, showing the highest artistry of Rohlfs’ carved furniture. An incredible object that epitomizes furniture as sculpture. -----
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This exceptional, rare masterwork by Charles Rohlfs is one of only two known examples of the form—the second of which is executed in oak and is in the collection of American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation, a promised gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

The involvement of Rohlfs’ wife, Anna Katharine Green, in his design work has been traced to several of Rohlfs’ furniture forms, including the oak version of the present model. Joseph Cunningham’s analysis of this chair design aptly connects the iconography of the chair’s carved and pierced backrest to the cellular structure of oak. While American Arts and Crafts furniture pieces are most often executed in oak, the present example employs a rich mahogany, perhaps at the request of the original commission or due to the suitability of mahogany to the chair’s fluidly biomorphic carved decoration. Compared to the oak example, the present offering shows some additional carved embellishments at the lower register of the seat back.

As discussed in The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs, the desk chair form takes on a highly sculptural quality. The juxtaposition of the understructure’s strict rectilinearity alongside the sinuous carved decorative backrest panel and frieze below the seat makes for a dynamic and visually balanced design. The carved biomorphic motifs are suggestive of similar aesthetic languages of the period, ranging in scope from French and Belgian Art Nouveau, the Glasgow School, to the Jugendstil, to Louis Sullivan’s complex layering of architectural elements in terracotta and cast iron.

In a lavishly illustrated essay on Rohlfs’ furniture in the 1901 issue of Dekorative Kunst: Illustrierte Zeitung für Angewandte Kunst, renowned German architect, author and diplomat Hermann Muthesius poetically interprets the perception of American Arts and Crafts furniture and the highly expressive quality of Rohlfs’ designs. “Rohlfs’ importance for the new art movements [referencing the American and European Arts and Crafts movements] will rightly bring the later aspects of art history into the right light... That he has but a joyful ingenuity, clever hands, and his own happy instinct, certainly meets the needs of an audience searching for something especially playful." (Hermann Muthesius, “Ein Amerikanischer Möbelkünstler, Ch. Rohlfs - Buffalo” [“An American Furniture Artist, Ch. Rohlfs - Buffalo”], Dekorative Kunst: Illustrierte Zeitung für Angewandte Kunst 7, 1901, pp. 74-79.)  He cites a neo-gothic sensibility in Rohlfs’ designs that transforms into an abstracted formal language–an innovation for which Rohlfs was revered.  An incomparably creative designer, he was an outstanding representative of the American craft designers for his attention to material, construction, and inspired approach. The present chair is an embodiment of these ideals–a virtuoso example of the master craftsmanship that emerged at the turn of the century in America.

This offering has remained in the same family since the period, and was originally owned by Daisy Mead Talbott Greene and George Shaw Greene of Dayton, Ohio.  George Shaw Greene was notably a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and resided in Buffalo, New York before moving to Dayton upon his marriage in 1910, when the present chair may have been acquired by the couple on the occasion of their wedding.  This offering presents the collecting community with an unprecedented opportunity to acquire one of the most artistic and desired forms produced by Rohlfs.